Red Arrow
by ladyasgardian
Summary: Post-Season 3. Thea is excited to finally be a hero, but soon discovers that being a vigilante is a lot harder than it looks.


A/N: I really wanted to see what Team Arrow would've been like without Oliver, so this is me dealing with that. That being said, there is no hostility towards him. I try my best to keep everyone in character, including them not liking certain things certain people do. I also made up my own stuff and adjusted things to fit my story. Try not to be picky. Other than that, enjoy!

Thea drummed her fingers on the table. She resisted the urge to look at her phone, knowing only a minute passed since she last checked, and that indeed Laurel and Diggle were late. They were supposed to be here ten minutes ago.

She was currently sitting in the Arrow Cave underneath Palmer Technology. She had to sneak her way past the caution tape and barriers, but luckily there was no police presence. Thea still could not believe the tragedy that had befallen Ray Palmer. She didn't know him very well, but he was a good man. After everything they went through, it hurt to suffer another loss. However, Thea hated to admit that it worked in their favor, as the company was now thrown in chaos. No one would be in the building, giving the vigilante team the privacy they desperately needed. If any of them decided to show up, that is.

Thea sighed, and pulled out her phone from her pocket. She cringed at the lock screen, which was a picture of Roy and her. That needed to change as soon as possible. Thea scrolled through her notifications. No text messages. The day before, after Oliver and Felicity had left, Diggle told her that they needed a team meeting. Since Oliver was gone, Diggle now assumed the mantle of team leader. She was excited for it, but he didn't provide any details on what was going to be discussed. As a result, she had worn her workout gear in case they were going to train. She eyed the salmon ladder from afar. Perhaps she could get a headstart.

Just as she was about to stand up, the elevator doors opened, and Laurel and Diggle exited. To her dismay, they were dressed professionally, not as if they were going to have a sparring session. In addition, the two were laughing as Diggle showed Laurel something on his phone.

"So she's making a beeline to the door," Diggle said, grinning at Laurel. "I literally had to run after her before she made it out. She's like a dog, you can't leave the door open or she'll escape."

Laurel gasped in mock offense. "Are you comparing your daughter to a dog?"

Diggle shrugged, not losing his wide smile. "She is a man's best friend."

Thea cleared her throat at that moment, catching the attention of her friends. The pair turned to her, and Laurel nodded to her. "Hey, Thea! Hope we didn't keep you waiting."

"Not too long," Thea waved it off. There was no point in complaining about it. She had been anticipating this moment for so long, so they couldn't afford any more distractions. "So, we gonna start doing some Team Arrow stuff or what?"

Laurel and Diggle sat down adjacent to Thea, and quickly their good nature was gone. Thea noticed the change immediately, their backs straightening and their grins wiped off their faces. She felt a thrill of excitement rush through her. Finally, she was going to be a vigilante. A hero like everyone else.

"There are few things we need to address," Diggle said, hands clasped together firmly in front of him. "First off, Oliver and Felicity are no longer with us. That puts holes in our team."

Thea perked up. Those two may have taken an impromptu vacation, but that simply meant their absence will work in her favor. "That's where I come in, right?"

Diggle shook his head. "Afraid not, Thea. Having an archer isn't essential to the team. Having a strategist and computer specialist, on the other hand, is."

Thea leaned back, deflated. She never even considered the skill set she brought to the team, or rather the lack of. She can fight, yes, but so can Diggle and Laurel. She would just be another grunt in the field.

"That being said," Diggle continued, "I'll take over their roles."

Laurel and Thea both looked at him in surprise. "Do you know more about computers than you let on?" Laurel asked, puzzled.

Diggle chuckled. "I may not know much, but Felicity taught me a few things. I can learn the rest."

"You won't miss going out in the field?" Thea questioned. She knew he used to be a soldier, and then a bodyguard. He wasn't the type to sit back and let others handle it.

"I will," Diggle said honestly, "but we have to look at the bigger picture here. And I've been meaning to get my own disguise, so this will give me time to figure something out."

"And you're team leader, right?" Laurel tilted her head. "You have the most experience, so it's a no-brainer." Thea nodded along in agreement. Diggle had been part of her brother's team since the beginning. He knew how to get things done.

Diggle sighed. "That was something I wanted to talk about, too. I'll be the official head, but I didn't like the way Oliver would do things on his own, or where we had no voice in his decisions. That's going to change."

Thea kept silent. She was never under Oliver's command, so she didn't know exactly what he was referring to. But judging by the look on Laurel's face, the other woman wholeheartedly agreed with Diggle's statement. Thea wondered how bad her brother would be during missions.

"From now on," Diggle claimed, "this is a democracy. We share all information. We all have a say in what task we take on and how we do it. And we all need to agree."

"I second that," Laurel added. "We'll work together more effectively that way."

Thea looked between the two, slightly mortified. She expected that to be common sense. "So you're saying that's not how it was before?"

Laurel shook her head. "Nope. Be glad you were never part of your brother's team."

"Consider me grateful." She loved Oliver, but that was ridiculous. Thea was eager to be part of their team, but she would not have blindly followed orders. She learned enough from Merlyn to know not to make the same mistake twice. Shaking her head, she clapped her hands together. "Anything else? Or can we start kicking ass now?"

"Hold on there, Speedy," Diggle chuckled. "We have to give you the proper vigilante orientation."

Thea cocked her head, surprised by what he called her. Diggle had never used her childhood nickname before. "Speedy?"

"Yeah," Diggle said, leaning back and folding his arms. "Isn't that your hero name now?"

"No," Thea frowned, and folded her arms, mirroring Diggle. Damn Oliver. He really did tell people to call her that. "I'm using 'Red Arrow.'"

Diggle scoffed. "Red arrow tells you where the exit is."

"Whatever," Thea brushed it off. "Point is, I'm choosing my name, and I choose 'Red Arrow.'"

Laurel and Diggle exchanged knowing looks, which Thea did not appreciate. She had a feeling that they had already made up their mind on her name. "Red Arrow," Thea repeated, glancing between the two. "I mean it, guys."

"Sure," Diggle agreed, but his tone suggested otherwise. Thea internally groaned, knowing she had to give this up unless she wanted to sound like a child. She'll argue it another day.

"Now," their new leader continued, keeping his gaze on Thea. "Why don't we see how well you can handle a bow?"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"This is ridiculous," Thea commented, walking alongside Laurel on an empty street in the Glades. As much as she enjoyed wearing her red suit, equipped with a bow and plenty of arrows, it was too quiet. The gravel cracked under her boots, doing little to chase away the silence in the air. The buildings around her were worn down, due to both poverty and the recent encounter with the League. However, what bothered Thea the most was the lack of life. There were no vagrants, no gang members. No stupid teenagers trying to have a good time in the worst part of town. "Where are the muggers at? The criminals?"

"Hey!" Laurel hushed her, nudging her shoulder playfully. "We should be thankful that the city is quiet tonight."

"Sure," Thea agreed, "but my fingers are itching to shoot some arrows." She had spent a few hours prior displaying her prowess as an archer to Diggle and Laurel, and definitely proved her worth. They were clearly impressed. She didn't miss a single target.

Laurel chuckled. "You'll get your moment, don't worry. If there's anything we can rely on about this city, it's the criminal element."

Thea nodded in agreement. Their beloved city had high crime ratings despite the heavy presence of vigilantes. In fact, Thea noted warily, the recent attacks on the city were a result of said vigilantes. She pushed down the sense of dread growing in her. She had to believe they were doing the right thing. They were helping these people.

"Sometimes I come here," Laurel spoke, and Thea looked up at her. Then she turned around, taking in her surroundings. Dread continued to climb through her as she realized this was where CNRI used to be located. It had been years since Thea had last been at the site. The place where Laurel invested so much of her life into helping the less fortunate. The place where Thea worked off her DUI sentence. The place where Tommy died.

Laurel gave her a sad smile, and Thea reached out with her free hand to grab her shoulder. "If you ever want to talk, you know I'm there." She knew Laurel never lets people see how much she suffers. She always tries to hide it to protect everyone else. Thea wished she could let her know she didn't need to do that.

"I know," Laurel nodded, putting her hand on top of hers. "You're pretty much a sister to me, Speedy. I know I don't say it often enough, but I'm there for you, too."

" _You two do realize you're on the field, right? You gonna hug it out, too?"_

The pair broke out into laughter, not bothered by Diggle's interruption over the comms. They resumed their trek through the Glades. "Sorry about that," Laurel said, clearly unapologetic. "Sometimes you just gotta have a moment."

Thea smirked. "I think he's jealous that he wasn't included in the moment."

" _I'm good, thank you."_

Laurel and Thea shared a grin, and despite the cold night, Thea felt warm. Between her near death experience and her brother's supposed betrayal, they had been living in a constant state of stress and pain. But now the city is no longer under attack, and they can simply take it easy. It was a refreshing and welcoming change.

"Alleyway," Laurel remarked, coming to a stop in front of a narrow pathway between two boarded-up shops. Thea groaned, and the two walked inside. She hated alleyways. They were always the place where kidnappings and murders happen. Reasonably, she knew that if they came across any unsavory characters, they would be fine. Yet she still gripped her bow tighter, ready for any attack.

The vigilantes walked silently, passing by empty beer bottles and discarded plastic bags. Thea wrinkled her nose as they passed a dumpster, the stench so horrid that she wouldn't be surprised if there was a decaying corpse in there. Not that she was going to check.

Laurel strode forward, unaffected by their surroundings. She reached the end of the alley when she stopped suddenly. "Speedy," she called, alarmed. She said it so urgently that Thea felt wrong to correct her on the name. She immediately sprinted to catch up to her and was not prepared for the sight before them.

"Holy shit."

There was a dead woman on the ground, her limbs resting unnaturally. Judging by her skimpy attire and area of town, she was likely a prostitute. As Laurel looked around the surrounding area for any clues, Thea bent down next to the body. There was heavy mascara dried in lines on her cheeks. She also noted a gunshot wound in the middle of her chest and a copious amount of dried blood surrounding it. There were bruises circling the wrists like a bracelet, and more bruises scattered on the legs. The woman clearly had a hard life.

"Dig," Laurel said, giving up her search. "Notify the police. Let them know there's a dead body at our location."

" _Copy that."_

Thea stood up and joined Laurel, who was standing a few feet away. "I couldn't find anything," Laurel told her as she approached. "How about you?"

"Bullet in the chest," Thea reported. "Bruises on the wrists and legs. And there's a lot of blood on her clothes, but not the ground. This is probably a dump site." She hated how objective and distant she sounded. A woman was dead. She should care more.

"That's what I was thinking, too," Laurel nodded in agreement. "But for right now, there's nothing we can do. We'll let the cops do the dirty work and see what they can dig up. Then we'll pursue any leads they find."

"I was hoping to stop a mugging, not finding a dead body," Thea sighed. Any eagerness for fighting crime had left her, like water running quickly down a drain. This was not what she wanted. No one needed to die. "Not a glorious first day."

"Told you," Laurel responded, shaking her head. "This city and its criminal element."

Internally, Thea was disheartened by how true Laurel's statement was. Starling City will always be filled with corrupt politicians and bloodthirsty lowlives. It seemed like her brother's work hadn't even put a dent in the crime rate. She knew he mostly targeted the high-profile villains, like Malcolm Merlyn and Slade Wilson, but often times the smaller wrongdoings get overlooked. Saving the city from a man-made earthquake takes priority over helping a woman get her purse back. Thea was hoping that they could do it all, but on the first day they already have a dead body on their plate. This job was heavier than she anticipated.

"Do you think there's hope? That we could ever save this city?" Thea asked. She looked at Laurel, waiting for an answer.

Laurel gave her a soft smile. "Of course. I know right now it sucks, but once we find the person who did this and put them behind bars, you'll feel like the embodiment of justice."

Despite coming across a dead person, she couldn't help but be amused by Laurel's choice of words. "Embodiment?" Thea repeated teasingly, and Laurel chuckled.

"You know what I mean."

Thea shrugged, and Laurel put a hand on her shoulder. "Come on. The police will handle this, and we have a few more blocks to go before we can call it a night."

"Yeah," She returned her gaze back to the woman. Her body was simply lying there, discarded like trash. No one deserved that. They will find who did this.


End file.
